Beautiful Disaster (Privilege 2)

Allison let out a groan, tipping her head back. "We'd better get back up there. Tahira is beside herself. Between this and what happened this morning," she said, casting another derisive look at Ariana--as if it were her fault the girl sucked at tennis. "I don't know. I think she's going to lose it. She wants to apologize to you, Palmer."

"To me? Please. She did her job. This isn't her fault," Palmer said, looking distracted. "I just... I don't know what we're going to do now."

"Win the crew race. It's all we can do," Allison said.

Palmer looked at Ariana, a pained expression in his eyes. She knew what he was thinking. And she also knew that as a good leader, he didn't want to say it in front of Allison. But he believed in his heart that the Welcome Week competition was already lost. There was no way they could make a comeback in crew. Just no way.

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Ariana had lost Privilege House for her team. She had lost it for Palmer. And he was clearly heartbroken.

"I'd better go talk to Tahira," he said. "She has to know this isn't her fault."

He led Ariana and Allison out the side door and up the pathway to the hill. As Ariana followed behind them, all she could think about was Palmer's devastated face. This wasn't Tahira's fault. It was hers. And she had to find a way to fix it. For the team. For the secret society. But most of all, for Palmer. Maybe she couldn't be with him, but that didn't mean she couldn't help him.

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OVER

Sunday morning dawned warm and clear, and Ariana felt hopeful. Even though Privilege House was all but

lost, even though Welcome Week was a bust, she had to focus on the positive. After today, there would be no more looking over her shoulder, no more wincing every time her cell phone beeped. Maybe she'd be living in Cornwall with Allison all year long, but at least she'd be alive.After finding her weekly allowance check from Grandma Covington in her mailbox, she knew for sure it was going to be a good day. The money would help her get off campus, and she had an idea of what she might do with the extra cash if everything worked out. She walked to the bursar's office, signed Briana Leigh's name to the back, and cashed the check. Then she strolled right over to the parking lot in front of Cornwall, where she found a black limousine idling at the curb. Tahira stood next to the driver's door, along with a brick house of a man with a scar across his nose, who was holding a black briefcase.

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They both stared Ariana down as she approached, and Ariana couldn't help but feel intimidated. But then she realized that was exactly the point of this charade, so she lifted her chin and calmly stood before them.

"This is her," Tahira said, never taking her eyes off Ariana.

The man wordlessly handed over the briefcase. Heart hammering in her chest, Ariana held it in front of her and popped it open. It was full of crisp one-hundred-dollar bills.

"Don't trust me?" Tahira said snidely.

"I don't trust anyone," Ariana replied.

Tahira narrowed her eyes and for a split second Ariana thought she saw a hint of respect in them. Then a green cab pulled into the parking lot and the driver leaned out the window.

"You Ana Covington?"

"That's me," Ariana replied.

"Where're you going?" Tahira asked.

Ariana's heart caught for a split second. What if Tahira was in the secret society? What if she decided to get in her limo and tail Ariana. But then she felt the weight of the briefcase in her hand and realized there was a perfectly reasonable excuse for her going off campus.

"To the bank. You really think I want to keep this lying around my room?" she asked. She opened the back door of the cab and got inside, feeling guilty. "Later, T. Thanks!"

Then she gave the driver his directions and he turned the car around, leaving Tahira and her scary sidekick behind. All the way to Dupont Circle, Ariana kept glancing behind the car, but there was no

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sign of Tahira's limousine. She smiled as the driver pulled up in front of the Palomar Hotel. It was almost over.

Inside the air-conditioned lobby of the Palomar Hotel, Ariana spotted Kaitlynn right away. She was sitting in the far corner of the lobby, on a round couch with a high back, dressed in a plain black shift dress and her denim jacket, all the punk jewelry still in place. Ariana took a deep breath and savored the moment before walking over and placing the briefcase on the silver metal table in front of her.

"You can count it, but I'd rather you just go," Ariana said.

Kaitlynn slid the bag toward her and peeked inside. "I trust you."